Brexit blues, fine wines, budding entrepreneurs, and e-bikes: RTIH presents the retail technology week in numbers

Do you like numbers? Do you like retail systems news? Then this is the article for you. Including Slip, American Express, Shopify, Pricer, Mastercard, Whizz, Taylor Swift, FreedomPay, Zapp, and Walmart.

2,200 and 3,800…Watsons, the flagship health and beauty brand of AS Watson Group, is investing in opening and upgrading over 2,200 O+O (Offline plus Online) stores across 15 markets in Asia, Europe, and the Middle East.

The company expects to have over 3,800 new and refitted O+O stores by the end of 2024.

50,000…Sam’s Club has announced a milestone for an initiative enabling members to shape and contribute to Member’s Mark, the retailer’s exclusive private brand.

The Member’s Mark Community emerged from stealth with 50,000 actively participating consumers.

People provide input on products before they reach clubs – from voting on exclusive flavours to testing and trialing new items.

$12 million and $20 million…Whizz, an e-bike subscription platform for last mile delivery drivers, has raised $12 million in a Series A funding round led by LETA Capital, with participation from Flashpoint VC, and others.

The round takes the company’s total funding to $20 million.

53%…New research from American Express has revealed a significant appetite from retailers to invest in social media marketing as a way of tackling the perennial challenge of attracting new customers and driving loyalty. 

Customer attraction and retention was named as one of the top three challenges facing their businesses over the next 12 months by the 500 UK retailers surveyed, along with managing increased costs and mitigating the impact of cost-of-living pressures on consumer spending.

A third of retailers said they wanted to make the most of their social media channels to build a community among their customers and drive brand loyalty. 

As a result, investment in marketing and branding was pinpointed as the top area for investment; 53% of those surveyed who are planning to invest in this area said they would funnel funds into boosting social media activity.  

£5.9 billion…British brands and retailers have seen international sales to the EU plummet £5.9 billion since Brexit, despite a flourishing European e-commerce market. 

That’s according to Tradebyte research conducted in partnership with Retail Economics, which draws upon official UK trade statistics compiled in Q1 2024.

73% and 80%…New research reveals that greater financial support, regulatory change and government led initiatives that make it easier to start a business are seen as the most important changes needed to grow UK entrepreneurship. Doing so could help untap the potential of an estimated ten million aspiring entrepreneurs. 

Shopify’s Aspiring Entrepreneurship 2024 Report was conducted by Censuswide, among 14,047 general consumers and 1,428 business owners (SMEs) in the UK, Canada, Australia, France, Italy, Germany, and Spain

It shows a burgeoning entrepreneurial spirit in the UK. Three in five Brits express a desire to own their own business if all other factors were equal. 

This interest spans across age groups, with younger demographics showing the highest entrepreneurial enthusiasm - a substantial 73% of 16-24s and 80% of 24-34s have entrepreneurial ambitions. 

424…Big 5 Sporting Goods is joining FreedomPay’s platform as it looks to bring enhanced commerce security and capabilities to its 424 stores across the United States.

“Big 5 is excited to start this new partnership with FreedomPay,” says Michael Shinagawa, CIO  & SVP, IT at Big 5 Sporting Goods Corp.

“This collaboration will allow us to continue our commitment to providing exceptional value and service to its customers.”

The tie up aims to give customers a fast, frictionless, and secure checkout experience in-store, enhanced by FreedomPay’s data driven platform to enable loyalty and incentives.

27%…Research of over 1,000 UK shoppers by Pricer shows 27% now only buy grocery items which are on offer – a +6 percentage increase compared to 2023. 

This, Pricer suggests, shows that, despite inflation starting to ease, both pricing and promotions sensitivity continues to remain high among consumers. 

Younger demographics were more likely to exclusively buy items on promotion, with Millennials saying that 47% of all the food they buy is on offer, while 37% of Gen Z’s shopping baskets consist of promotional or marked down produce.

£2.5 million…Slip, a platform which helps retailers digitise  receipts, has raised a £2.5 million seed round led by Adjuvo and joined by Haatch Ventures, Unbundled VC, the Side by Side Partnership, and a range of angels including Asos’ Executive Vice President of Customer & Marketing, Dan Elton, and former CIO at Frasers and former CTO at John Lewis, Julian Burnett. 

Launched in 2022, Slip’s software has been tapped by retailers including JD Sports and Beyond Retro. 

Its API can integrate with existing systems - thanks to partnerships with providers including Shopify, Klaviyo, Epos Now and Sitoo - with insights from customer activity fed directly into partner CRMs or marketing technology stacks.

3…London-based rapid delivery firm, Zapp, is now offering three of the most sought after wines in the world: Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Grands Echezeaux Grand Cru 2009 (£3,499.99), Château Pétrus Pomerol 2000 (£5,499.99), and Chambertin Grand Cru Domaine Armand Rousseau 2009 (£4,499.99).

This marks the first time these wines are available on-demand for delivery in minutes.

Zapp, which saw losses increase from £76 million to £92 million in 2022 as it restructured the business to focus on core markets, lays claim to being one of the largest UK retailers of fine wine and premium spirits, and says that it has tripled its sales in the past year.

This stems from its focus on rapid delivery and exclusive products, with over 50% of its beer, wine, and spirits category dedicated to premium items, including Antinori, Gaja, Château Mouton-Rothschild, and Opus One.

263%…New data from e-commerce accelerator Pattern reveals a surge in demand for Taylor Swift merchandise as fans prepare to dress for the occasion and celebrate the American singer-songwriter’s visit to the UK.   

Taylor Swift’s impact on the American economy, often dubbed ‘Swiftonomics,’ has been well documented.

Now, as the UK prepares for the arrival of her highly anticipated Eras Tour, a similar economic boost is expected here, and retailers should prepare for this demand. Pattern’s analysis of consumer demand on Amazon for popular outfits and memorabilia reveals significant increases in several key areas.  

Year-over-year searches for ‘Taylor Swift’ have skyrocketed by 263%, while searches for ‘friendship bracelet kit’, an item popularly exchanged by fans at Taylor’s concerts, have risen by 166%.

This indicates a growing interest in both general Taylor Swift merchandise and specific fan related items.

1…Mastercard has announced the expansion of its global Biometric Checkout Programme in Latin America (LAC).

With partners Ingenico, Fulcrum Biometrics, Fujitsu Frontech, and Scanntech, it has launched an in-store biometric payment experience at Tienda Inglesa’s Red Expres in Uruguay.

This is the first Biometric Checkout Programme pilot that allows shoppers to pay with their palms and the second pilot in the LAC region. 

Red Expres shoppers can register their information, payment credentials and biometric on-site and  pay for their goods by placing their hand over a sensor at the payment terminal. The programme allows for faster payment and shorter lines at checkout, and integrates with loyalty programmes.

10 million, 50 and 45 million…Walmart is expanding its InHome delivery service to an additional ten million US households, including those in California.

This will also be available to customers in Boston, Detroit, Minneapolis and Philadelphia, bringing the total scale of InHome to more than 50 markets covering over 45 million homes.

“The expansion of InHome comes at the perfect time for families in San Bernardino who are embarking on the busy summer season and are looking for faster, more convenient ways to complete those everyday chores,” says Haley McShane, General Manager of InHome, Walmart U.S.

“We understand that customers are busy and want to make sure that they can have a seamless shopping experience that fits their needs.”